CFTC May Sue Ex-MF Global Executive Edith O’Brien

The Commodity Futures Trading Commission has told a former assistant treasurer at MF Global Holdings Ltd. that it might bring a civil enforcement case against her, according to people familiar with the matter.

Edith O’Brien, a key figure during the final days of the bankrupt securities firm, received a warning known as a Wells notice from the CFTC indicating she might be the target of a civil enforcement action.

CFTC Commissioners would have to vote on any recommendation to file a civil lawsuit against Ms. O’Brien from the CFTC enforcement division. That could happen as soon as this week, though there is a chance a suit won’t be filed at all, one person familiar with the case said.

It is unclear what the charges against Ms. O’Brien might be, but the CFTC has been looking into whether anyone at the firm knew or should have known that customer funds were used improperly in the final days before MF Global’s bankruptcy filing on Oct. 31, 2011.

The CFTC’s interest in Ms. O’Brien comes as the agency prepares a civil suit against former MF Global CEO Jon S. Corzine. The enforcement division of the CFTC told lawyers for Mr. Corzine that it would recommend bringing a case against him as early as this week, according to people familiar with the matter.

The CFTC has been working for nearly two years on an investigation related to more than $1 billion that was improperly moved from customer accounts in the final days of MF Global. The money was moved amid chaotic conditions in which MF Global’s trading partners demanded more collateral and held onto payments that MF Global was trying to get back from other trades.

Ms. O’Brien, who was based in MF Global’s Chicago office, was a key figure in moving money during MF Global’s final days. She received criminal immunity in recent months and agreed to be interviewed by law-enforcement officials, according to a person familiar with the discussions.

A lawyer for Ms. O’Brien and a spokesman for the CFTC declined to comment.